5:15 PM Train Time (A Photo Essay)

Etched into memory forever is the oscillating flash of the locomotive’s light, the hiss of air, the sound of tickets being punched, the clickety-clack of the rails, the sing-song call of the next stop, the squeal of brakes, a sea of humanity carried through the peak hours by a parade of 7- to 10-car trains. The commuter remembers the distinctive throb of the Fairbanks-Morse OP engine bringing us up to speed, the chant of the EMD 16-cylinder 567 prime mover ... even the sterile turbocharged whine of the EMD 20-cylinder 645. Watch your step! All aboard! Enjoy your ride into history.  (And remember to reserve your set of bilevel commute coaches by 12/28/10.)

GP-9 accelerating out of Burlingame during the morning rush hourMorning, June 1981, Train No. 129 enters 4th & Townsend with EMD GP40P-2 leading a train of 72-ft Suburban CoachesMorning train No. 43 rounding the curve for the last lap into the City ... bilevel coach shown is a 1968 Pullman-Standard built carThis was taken when I was a little with my 110 Kodak Instamatic Camera: Car No. 3723 is an ACF built 1957 bilevel coach that Wheels of Time is currently recreating (see http://wheelsotime.com/bilevel-commute-coach)One of a kind Caltrain-painted-&-leased SP locomotive 3187 with bilevel coaches leaving in the afternoonEvening rush hour with SDP45 in commandSP Train No. 42 rounding 7th Street with EMD SW1500 switching a set of bilevel coachesTrain No. 151 at San Jose waiting to leave for a night run up the Peninsula ... notice the portable red light that hangs on the metal gate

SHIPPING & UPDATE

We are shipping our 70-ft heavyweight baggage-express cars through next week. They look really nice. Yours truly is packing the orders. Our ADA Station Platform Warning Bands in HO- and N-scales are being made. Be sure to check out the bilevel commute coaches (reservations due at your dealer or direct by Dec. 28th). These bilevels will have really fine printing and painting with two-level seating, like the real thing.

More photos of 70-ft Heavyweight Baggage-Express Cars

More pics of our new cars. Enjoy.

Chesapeake and Ohio arched roof baggage car with Garland roof vents. C&O used this car for passenger baggage service.Chicago & North Western clerestory baggage-express car. These cars carried express shipments.

Stay tuned for announcements regarding new products for Winter/Spring!

New 70-ft Heavyweight Baggage-Express Cars

Here are a few snapshots of our eagerly-awaited, brand-new 70-ft Heavyweight Baggage-Express cars. We anticipate completing production in about 2-weeks, and shipping from Hong Kong will take an additional week. These cars will be worth the wait!

Item Nos. 218-220TS Rock Island clerestory baggage-express car, painted in dark olive

Item Nos. 207-208 Wabash arched roof baggage-express car

Items 223 and 224 Unlettered, painted in Pullman Green

Photo Essay: 6-Wheel Heavyweight Passenger Trucks

We're excited about the upcoming release of Wheels of Time's 6-wheel heavyweight passenger trucks which are perfect for scratchbuilders and kitbashers. Along the way, I took photos of various 6-wheel heavyweight passenger car trucks. Notice the variations in truck details. Enjoy.

This is under an ATSF chair car that was rebuilt from a Pullman sleeping car.Truck under Pullman car "Emerald Waters." Notice the variation in the rolling bearing journals.11-ft wheelbase heavyweight truck rebuilt with roller bearing under B&O modernized coach.Notice the "B & O" markings.Heavyweight truck under SP 1975 All Day Lunch Car.SP Class 6-TC-2 truck under SP 77-D-6 Dining Car being retrofitted with rolling bearings. Noticed the "UP" markings under this 1912 UP Harriman business car.This is a Pullman 10'-6" wheelbase truck built in 1900.